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Ms. Milner-Smith advises clients across a range of industries on all aspects of UK and international employment law, including the HR aspects of privacy compliance and human rights regulation.

Ms. Milner-Smith has particular expertise advising on the HR-legal aspects of multi-jurisdictional transactions. She also regularly assists clients seeking to protect their business and increase international compliance by designing and implementing global policies, employment contracts and restrictive covenants.

Ms. Milner-Smith has been recognised by Legal 500 UK for her “exceptional service” and “responsive and practical” advice.

In addition, Ms. Milner-Smith has gained valuable in-house experience while on secondment at three large multinational corporations - a pharmaceutical company, an oil company and a leading investment bank.

Advising Microsoft Corporation on the global employment law aspects of its US$7bn acquisition of Nokia’s devices and services business and subsequent corporate integration, involving over 25,000 former Nokia employees across 60 countries.

Providing international employment law advice to AstraZeneca in relation to its acquisition of Bristol-Myers Squibb’s interests in the companies’ global diabetes alliance across 40 jurisdictions.

Advising a multinational retail client on the implementation of global employment contracts, policies and business code of conduct.

Representing an international pharmaceutical company in defending several claims in the UK employment tribunal, including unfair dismissal and race discrimination.

Advising an international media company on its restructure, including managing collective and individual redundancies.

Pro Bono

Working with Kids In Need of Defense UK to provide children and young people with pro bono immigration and nationality legal advice and representation.

Advising a global charity in relation to expatriate contracts and policies.

Representing a global charity in defending allegations of unfair dismissal and whistleblowing.

Nominated for the LawWorks Pro Bono Award for Best Contribution by an Individual in 2012 and 2010.

Memberships and Affiliations

Corporate Human Rights Benchmark Ltd (CHRB) has published its 2018 research methodology and is currently encouraging relevant companies to disclose information relevant to this year’s research and ranking exercise.

Last week, the United Nations hosted the sixth annual Forum on Business and Human Rights in Geneva. The three-day event provided attendees with informative panels and important updates on the state of the field. Lawyers from Covington’s business and human rights initiative were in attendance and suggest five important takeaways for business.

Helena Milner-Smith and Morag Peberdy participated in a roundtable hosted by The Law Society Gazette to discuss the importance of pro bono work. According to Milner-Smith, clients previously receiving poor paid-for advice is a major problem in immigration cases. Commenting on a briefing she received before working on her first immigration case, Milner-Smith ...

Helena Milner-Smith is quoted in a Law360 article regarding the European Court of Human Rights ruling on employee privacy in a case brought by Bogdan Mihai Barbulescu. "The decision serves as a reminder for employers who monitor workplace communications to ensure their monitoring practices do not go beyond what is necessary for a legitimate purpose, that ...

Helena Milner-Smith is quoted in a Bloomberg article regarding the European Court of Human Rights ruling on employee privacy in a case brought by Bogdan Mihai Barbulescu. According to Milner-Smith, the ruling should remind employers not to "go beyond what is necessary for a legitimate purpose." She adds, "However, the Grand Chamber’s ruling will have very little ...

Helena Milner-Smith is quoted by The Law Society Gazette in an article regarding the European Court of Human Rights ruling on employee privacy in a case brought by Bogdan Mihai Barbulescu. According to Milner-Smith, "The decision serves as a reminder for employers who monitor workplace communications to ensure their monitoring practices do not go beyond what is ...

We recently reported on the global trend towards improved business “non-financial reporting” of human rights and environmental practices. The latest U.K. developments in this area are the Modern Slavery (Transparency in Supply Chains) Bill 2017 (the “Bill“) and a report on labour market enforcement strategy published by David Metcalf, the U.K. Labour Market ...

On May 25, 2018, employers located or with staff in the European Union (“EU”) will have to comply with a new data protection law—Regulation (EU) 2016/679 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data—commonly referred to as the General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”). This will ...

On 6 December 2016, the UK Government published the revised draft Equality Act 2010 (Gender Pay Gap Information) Regulations 2017 (the “Regulations”), which, subject to prior parliamentary approval, are expected to come into force on 6 April 2017. The new law will require private employers in the UK to collect and publish information showing differences in pay ...

WASHINGTON, DC — Covington has promoted eight lawyers to of counsel and eight to special counsel, effective April 1, 2016.
The new of counsel are as follows:
Stefanie Doebler (Washington) focuses her practice on health care compliance matters for pharmaceutical and medical device clients. She provides advice related to advertising and promotion, fraud and abuse, ...

NEW YORK, December 8, 2015 - Covington represented Ascension, the nation’s leading Catholic and non-profit health system, in a $200 million investment transaction with TowerBrook Capital Partners in Accretive Health, a leading provider of revenue cycle management services to healthcare providers. The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of ...

As people head off on their summer breaks, regulators in Europe, particularly Germany, are increasingly focused on the breakdown of the division between home and work life and how this division is changing as mobile devices become used for work-related emails. Regulators are considering new rules that would limit an employer’s ability to require employees...… ...

By Helena Milner-Smith, Kamakshi Venkataramanan and Jenna Wallace Vodafone announced recently a new progressive and generous mandatory minimum global maternity policy. According to the company, under the new policy, to be in effect by the end of this year, female employees of Vodafone in 30 countries will be offered two maternity benefits: (1) at least 16...… ...

We are writing with another update on French labor law that could impact international corporate transactions. French President Francois Hollande has proposed a change to French legislation that could remove the threat of imprisonment for directors and senior employees who are found to have breached obligations to consult with works councils and other employee ...

A fake ‘Rolex’ sold from a website in China is delivered to Denmark The case began in January 2010 when Danish resident Mr. Blomqvist purchased a ‘Rolex’ watch from a Chinese online shopping site. The order and payment were made through an English version of the website. The seller dispatched the watch from Hong Kong. ...… Continue Reading

CovBrands would like to congratulate Emilie Jones, who won the prestigious award of associate of the year at last night’s British Legal Awards ceremony, hosted by Legal Week. Emilie’s contribution to the firm’s Brands practice greatly impressed the panel of judges, who picked her as the winner above associates from Linklaters, Hogan Lovells, Paul Hastings...… ...

Emilie Jones, Covington associate and CovBrands contributor, is a finalist for the award of associate solicitor of the year at this evening’s British Legal Awards 2013. Being shortlisted for this prestigious award is a fantastic achievement and is in part due to Emilie’s work in growing Covington’s Brands practice, as well as her pro bono...… Continue Reading

In August we explored the move in New York to extend the protection of certain child labor laws to child models (under the age of 18). You can read more here. This week, the bill (S.5486) was signed by Governor Cuomo and has passed into law with significant impact for the fashion industry, particularly in...… Continue Reading

Since our blog post on the UK Government’s crackdown on the use of un-paid interns, there have been further developments regarding the National Minimum Wage (“NMW”) scheme. In October 2013, restrictions will be stripped back making it easier for an employer who breaks NMW law to be publicly named and shamed. Under the current scheme, the Pay...… Continue Reading

Hannah Edmonds, a trainee associate in Covington’s London office, contributed to this post. Currently, legal regimes governing protection of trade secrets and confidential information across the EU are fairly disparate. A study published by the European Commission in July (http://ec.europa.eu/internal_market/iprenforcement/docs/20130711/final-study_en.pdf) has ...

Earlier this week, CovBrands blogged about prospective changes to New York law, which would give increased protection to models under the age of 18. In the UK, young models are protected by regulations that apply to child performers under age 16. The regulations require a special licence to hire a child to participate in any...… Continue Reading

Since Apple launched the first iPhone in 2007, the popularity of smart phones and tablets has sky-rocketed. These devices, with their sleek design, touch screens and easy access to a myriad of entertainment options, have fast become the preferred method of communication for executives. In recent years, a growing number of companies have allowed employees...… ...

Since Apple launched the first iPhone in 2007, the popularity of smart phones and tablets has sky-rocketed. These devices, with their sleek design, touch screens and easy access to a myriad of entertainment options, have fast become the preferred method of communication for executives. In recent years, a growing number of companies have allowed employees...… ...

Companies are increasingly recognising the benefits of using social media to increase brand recognition and consumer loyalty, thereby boosting sales and profitability. Many consumers follow brands online for news of product launches and special offers. One way of maximising a brand’s social media presence is to involve employees. In the Cosmetics industry, ...

On 7 March 2013, the UK Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) issued new guidance for employers on the use of personal devices for business purposes. The guidance is largely informed by a survey commissioned by the ICO and carried out by the market research firm YouGov. According to the survey, 47 percent of adults in the UK...… Continue Reading

On 7 March 2013, the UK Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) issued new guidance on the use of personal devices for business purposes. The guidance is largely informed by a survey commissioned by the ICO and carried out by the market research firm YouGov. According to the survey, 47% of adults in the UK use personal...… Continue Reading

LONDON, 6 October, 2010 — Covington & Burling LLP is pleased to announce the appointment of Christopher Walter as a partner in the European employment practice. He will be joined by special counsel Chris Bracebridge and associate Helena Laughrin. They will significantly enhance Covington's capabilities to meet the needs of the firm's growing European corporate ...

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Covington & Burling LLP operates as a limited liability partnership worldwide, with the practice in England and Wales conducted by an affiliated
limited liability multinational partnership, Covington & Burling LLP, which is formed under the laws of the State of Delaware in the United States
and authorized and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority with registration number 77071.
The practice in Johannesburg is conducted by an affiliated limited company Covington & Burling (Pty) Ltd. The practice in Dublin Ireland is through a general affiliated Irish partnership, Covington & Burling and authorized and regulated by the Law Society of Ireland with registration number F9013.